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Need help urgently

I am a 38 year old with my first newborn who just turned 13 days old. I had my baby boy via emergency c-section. Not sure if its my age or some other factor, I don't have breast milk to feed my child. I have been pumping (medela hospital grade pump) since I came back from the hospital. Day 1 milk yield was around 5ml per pumping session and I pump about 4-5 times a day and maybe once a night. Now the milk supply has increased but only a tad bit, pumping session #1 is just about 1oz and then it decreases significantly the remainder of the sessions. I am getting very disheartened and heart broken watching my baby boy suffer through gas and congestion due to formula intake and am desperate for some help/advise as to what I can do to increase my breast milk. I tried getting my boy to latch on to stimulate milk production, but it only ended in frustration for the little one as there wasn't much for him to extract and on top of that it was a shallow latch so now I hurt! I am trying everything but nothing seems to amount to much. Please help.

Re: Need help urgently

If I understand correctly you are exclusively pumping at this point, is that right? And only 4-5 times a day? If so, that is your problem and that is good news because you can fix it! At this point your body is not producing enough milk for the baby because it is not getting the signal to make the milk. You can change that. You want to be simulating newborn nursing in order to stimulate your body to make enough milk for your newborn. Newborn babies nurse almost constantly! You need to aim for pumping 8-10 times a day, which works out to about every 2-3 hours, maybe 3-4 hours at night. This is much closer to what your baby's nursing pattern would look like if he were nursing. Don't expect to pump enough milk to feed your baby initially. At this point you are pumping to rebuild your supply.

Are you planning to continue to try to nurse or are you wanting to exclusively pump?

Re: Need help urgently

Excellent advice from Still.here. Wen you're exclusively pumping or even just mostly pumping, you need to use that pump at a frequency equivalent to a newborn's nursing frequency. That means 8-10 pumping sessions per day, and more if you can manage it. Supply = demand, so the more demand your body gets the more milk it will supply.

Is seeing a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC, a possibility for you?

Re: Need help urgently

It's not your age. Just take that out of your mind. Some mothers do have preexisting conditions that cause low milk production but these are not age related, plus 38 is way, way, way to young to worry that it's age related.

Getting just drops day one is entirely normal as it takes a few days for milk to become abundant and in particular things can be delayed when birth is difficult. so I agree with the pps and linked articles should help. I also suggest the books Making More Milk and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (8th edition) kellymom.com has good articles on low production and the use of galactagogues. (herbs and medications that promote milk production)

You are using the right kind of pump, so as stillhere says, it's most likely that pumping must happen with much more frequency and it is also important that your pump fits you correctly.

You can try hand expression along with pumping if you like, you can also consider galactagogues.

This is early days. I know you are very distressed but low production really can be turned around. As can baby not nursing. I agree with mommal, if you can see an IBCLC that would probably help. But the most important thing is to get accurate information so you can work on the issues.

Re: Need help urgently

Thank you all for all the advice. I have started myself on a schedule to pump atleast 10 times a day. I am also taking supplements/galactogues such as 'more milk plus', as well as ground fenugreek seeds on the recommendation of my little boy's pediatrician.

I did see two lactation consultants at the hospital where I delivered and it was not very helpful. They tried to get my little one to latch on properly - this was their strategy to induce milk flow, which is a great strategy no doubt, but they ended up manipulating my breasts in ways that I came home with scabs and wounds, which made pumping bloody and painful. The one that I saw on the last day recommended renting the medela hospital grade pump, which was the most helpful piece of advice. I am still open to seeing a lactation consultant, just need to find a more sensitive one!

Again ladies, thank you a great deal! Hopefully it would not take long before I have enough supply that I can eliminate formula completely! That is the dream...

Re: Need help urgently

Look for a LC who holds an IBCLC qualification. Hospital LCs are sometimes nurses who have simply taken a short course (like a couple of hours!) or who have nursed babies themselves. They aren't necessarily experts.